Lindsay Heckmann Dr. Fogleman EDC 102 Honors September 20, 2011 My Big Sister
Stephanie Faye Heckmann is my rock. She is the one person I can trust to give me sound, honest advice regardless of my feelings or hers. My sister has always been the one to help me when I’m in need and keep me in check. She is the main reason that have succeeded in most of my endeavors thus far. Stephanie is my role model.
When we were younger, she was the one to receive the good grades, and the recognition from our parents. I was the rambunctious little sister who mainly got attention for acting out. Her teachers would rave about how polite, sweet, and smart this wonderful child was on our open-house nights. Mine, however, would hint that I needed to spend more time on math, spelling and paying attention during lessons. My father would even bribe us with a dollar for every A we received on our report cards and Stephanie would always do very well.
It was not until 5th grade that I began to really notice how different Stephanie and I were. She was a feminine, intelligent, 13 year-old young woman and I was a rambunctious tom-boy of 10 years-old. She would try her hardest to dress me the way a typical girl would dress, with flowered blouses, “limited too” skirts, etcetera. I would of course rebel, yet she would always have something to black-mail me with; like eating the school snacks at home or breaking something by accident. Therefore, I had to comply with her rules or face punishment from our parents. I resented her so much for this, I couldn’t stand it, and I just wanted to be left alone. Looking back, I’m glad she cared enough to try. So I began dressing appropriately for a “young lady” my age.
Later, Stephanie would also compare my report cards with those of her friend’s younger siblings, making me feel inadequate. “See Lindsay, if Taylor can get all A’s and B+’s, why can’t you?” I would become infuriated by this, and I would in turn try harder and receive the grades she wanted me to get just to prove to her I could. Stephanie kept winning every battle, eventually molding me into a mini her.
This may seem quite strange to some people. Why would an older sister try so hard to change their younger sibling? I used to wonder the same thing. Now I see what she was doing was not trying to change who I was as a person, but improve who I was as a student and peer. If it was not for her, I would have not excelled in school or cared about how I may have came across to others.
Being 3 ½ years older than me, she left our high school as I entered. This was beneficial in two ways: I could experience Pilgrim High School by myself without any interference but also get her advice seeing how she went through the same things I was. She told me what classes to take and what activities I might like to get involved in, but she wasn’t there breathing down my neck. It was actually Stephanie that turned me on to Cross-Country and Track.
Stephanie and I basically shared the same high school experiences with some differences here and there. We both were in National Honors Society, Spanish National Honors Society, Rhode Island Honors Society, Cross Country, Track, and more. However, it was clear that Stephanie has always been the more driven sibling, and she was always that much better than me at everything. If I would get an A-, she would get an A+. If I ran track, she was captain of her team. She is one of the hardest working people I have ever known and I admire her for that.
Steph will always be there to give me advice, be a friend, or an authoritative figure to keep me in check. She has been for 18 ½ years and I doubt it will ever change. Although I sometimes become annoyed or resent her for thinking she has control over me or the choices I make in my life, if it wasn’t for this over-bearing quality, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. She is my rock, my role model, and my influence.
Dr. Fogleman
EDC 102 Honors
September 20, 2011
My Big Sister
Stephanie Faye Heckmann is my rock. She is the one person I can trust to give me sound, honest advice regardless of my feelings or hers. My sister has always been the one to help me when I’m in need and keep me in check. She is the main reason that have succeeded in most of my endeavors thus far. Stephanie is my role model.
When we were younger, she was the one to receive the good grades, and the recognition from our parents. I was the rambunctious little sister who mainly got attention for acting out. Her teachers would rave about how polite, sweet, and smart this wonderful child was on our open-house nights. Mine, however, would hint that I needed to spend more time on math, spelling and paying attention during lessons. My father would even bribe us with a dollar for every A we received on our report cards and Stephanie would always do very well.
It was not until 5th grade that I began to really notice how different Stephanie and I were. She was a feminine, intelligent, 13 year-old young woman and I was a rambunctious tom-boy of 10 years-old. She would try her hardest to dress me the way a typical girl would dress, with flowered blouses, “limited too” skirts, etcetera. I would of course rebel, yet she would always have something to black-mail me with; like eating the school snacks at home or breaking something by accident. Therefore, I had to comply with her rules or face punishment from our parents. I resented her so much for this, I couldn’t stand it, and I just wanted to be left alone. Looking back, I’m glad she cared enough to try. So I began dressing appropriately for a “young lady” my age.
Later, Stephanie would also compare my report cards with those of her friend’s younger siblings, making me feel inadequate. “See Lindsay, if Taylor can get all A’s and B+’s, why can’t you?” I would become infuriated by this, and I would in turn try harder and receive the grades she wanted me to get just to prove to her I could. Stephanie kept winning every battle, eventually molding me into a mini her.
This may seem quite strange to some people. Why would an older sister try so hard to change their younger sibling? I used to wonder the same thing. Now I see what she was doing was not trying to change who I was as a person, but improve who I was as a student and peer. If it was not for her, I would have not excelled in school or cared about how I may have came across to others.
Being 3 ½ years older than me, she left our high school as I entered. This was beneficial in two ways: I could experience Pilgrim High School by myself without any interference but also get her advice seeing how she went through the same things I was. She told me what classes to take and what activities I might like to get involved in, but she wasn’t there breathing down my neck. It was actually Stephanie that turned me on to Cross-Country and Track.
Stephanie and I basically shared the same high school experiences with some differences here and there. We both were in National Honors Society, Spanish National Honors Society, Rhode Island Honors Society, Cross Country, Track, and more. However, it was clear that Stephanie has always been the more driven sibling, and she was always that much better than me at everything. If I would get an A-, she would get an A+. If I ran track, she was captain of her team. She is one of the hardest working people I have ever known and I admire her for that.
Steph will always be there to give me advice, be a friend, or an authoritative figure to keep me in check. She has been for 18 ½ years and I doubt it will ever change. Although I sometimes become annoyed or resent her for thinking she has control over me or the choices I make in my life, if it wasn’t for this over-bearing quality, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. She is my rock, my role model, and my influence.